Turnstile



F 1927' F MCLOUGHLJN TURNSTILE Filed March 6, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 F. J. M LOUGHLIN Feb. 15 y 1927.

TURNS'I'ILE Filed March 6, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Feb. 15, 1927.

FRANCIS J. MOLOUGHLIN, 0F BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

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Application filed March 6, 1925. Serial No. 13,427.

The present invention has'relation to a novel and improved. form of turnstile of the general type extensively used in fairs, railway depots, and platforms, etc., either for.

permitting passage of persons in one direction only or for IGg'iStOIllig the number of passengers passing in one or both directions, or for both purposes. In some cases these turnstiles are made to oppose passage in one or both directions until unlocked, usually by means operated by the dropping of a com. My present invention is adapted for use in any of these ways.

The turnstiles hitherto in general use 1nvolve the use of a bar or bars which extend across the passageway to he commanded and are swivelled upon a support at one side in such a manner as to revolve around such support in a horizontal plane or planes. In devices of such a character it is clear that room must be provided upon both sides of the support upon which the bars are mounted, thus making it necessary to provide, in addition to the space required for passage of a person and for the support, an additional space equal to that provided for the person passing, wherein the bar or bars may swing around the suport.

The object of the present invention is to provide a practical form of two-armed turnstile so mounted and constructed that the bars, when not in position across the pas sage, occupy a substantially vertical position, thereby accomplishing a great saving 1n the span necessary to be provided for each passage to be controlled.

The invention is illustrated in a preferred form in the accompanying drawings wherein Figure 1 is a front elevation of one form of the device partly broken away, Figure 2 s a plan view of the same showing. the position after preliminary tilting of the arms,

.Figure 3 is avertical sectional view taken on the line 3-3 in Figure 1, Figure 4 is a partial plan-view as in Figure 2, but with a portion broken away, Figure 5 is a perspective view of the steadying cam, Figure 6 is a side elevation of the top of the main support with a portion broken away and partly in vertical section, Figure 7 is a vertical sectional view of an example of a coin control which may be used with the invention, Figure 8 is a sectional view on the line 88 in Figure 6, and Figure 9 is a view similar to Figure 7 showing a different position of the parts.

Fundamentally the invention comprises two arms at substantially right angles connected together and adapted to -revolve in planes at right angles to each other, as on a universal joint. To accomplish this I pre for to provide a main axle and a swivel mounted thereon at right angles thereto. The arms, being mounted upon the swivel, are supported on the main axle, which last may be supported at either or both ends. In

the preferred form shown, the axle is sup- For purposes of conported at both ends. venience I shall hereinafter refer to movement of the arms around the main axle as a tilting movement and to movement around the swivel as a swinging movement.

In the specific form of the invention herein shown the main axle 10 is shown revolubly mounted at one end in the supporting casing 11, and at the other end in the secondary support or post 12. The casing. 11 may be used for accommodating counting means or locking means, etc., and I have indicated herein, as a mere example, a coin controlled lock, hereinafter described; The turnstile may, of course, be constructed to be pushed in either or both directions without departing from the scope of the invention.

As shown in Figure 3, the main axle is preferably made hollow, and upon it is mounted at right angles .a shaft 13, which I shall call the swivel. Within the shaft 10, there is mounted uponthe swivel a square abutment piece 14 to receive the pressure of 'the steadying spring, as hereinafter described.

The turnstile arms 15 and 16 are mounted upon a hollow hub 17 which is revolubly mounted upon the ends of the swivel 13. and these arms preferably extend inward, as shown so that the inner end of each arm when in vertical position will abut against the main shaft 10 to form a stop against swinging around the swivel, when in normal position.

The steadying devices for controlling and regulating the action of the arms under the influence of asimple forward push exerted by a person passing through the gate are preferably constructed as follows.

There isfixed on the main supporting casing 11 an annular cam 18 shown in perspective in Figure 5. This cam surrounds the main axle 10 and is concentric therewith.

The main axle 10 is slotted as at 19 (see Figure 1). and through this slot there extends, at right angles to the axle 10, a shaft 20 bearing wheels 21 at its opposite ends,

the. hub 16 are furnished which are so formed as to offer a material resistance to any effort tending to drive the wheels out of them along the face of the cam. This keeps the. turnstile steady in place when not in use. but, upon pressure being exerted on one of the arms. as hereinafter described. this resistance is overcome, the

wheels being allowed to leave the depressions 23 by the yielding of the spring 22.

The interior surfaces of the two sides of with inclined planes 24 one end of each of which bears (or nearly bears) upon the corresponding wheel 21, when in idle position as in Figure 1, so as to oppose any swinging of the arms around the shaft 13.

ithin the supporting casing 11, the shaft 10 or a hub thereon) is provided with diametrically opposite stops 25. arranged so that. when the axle 10 is tilted through ninety degrees (as hereinafter described) one stop comes up against the end of a pivoted lever 26 (see Figure 6). For greater solidity I prefer to provide an abutment 27 fixed to the inside of the casing 11. behind a projection at the end of the lever 26. This abutment takes the thrust of the stop 25. and relieves the pivot on which the lever 26 is mounted.

Ihe normal operation of the arms is as follows:

The first thrust exerted by a person passing through tilts the arms into the position shown in Figure 2. where this tilting is stopped by the stop 25 striking the lever 26 as shown in Figure (3. This action has caused the wheels 21 to ride up the inclined portions 28 of the cam 18. and has brought them onto the raised flat portions 29.

As shown in Figure 2. this brings the wheels 21 into such a position in relation to the planes 24 that, when the arms 15 and 16 and hub 17 are swung around the swivel 13, these planes press the wheels 21 to the right against the spring 22, and thus the pressure of this spring exerts a steadying pressure upon the arms during the subsequent operation. This action is illustrated in Figure 4.

' The tilting action being completed, further pressure upon an arm 15 causes swinging of the two arms as indicated by. the arrows in Figure 2, and. as soon as the planes 24 have passed beyond the right angle position with respect to the axle 10. the pressure of the wheels 21 upon these planes will tend to continue the swinging action until the arms assume the position shown in dotted lines in Figure 2 (the person pushing having passed through).

During this last movement, the curved surface of the hub 17, passing over .the knob 30 pushes inward the lever 31 pivoted at 32 (see Figure 8). The upper end of this lever 31 has a curved arm 33 which lifts the stop lever 26, freeing the stop 25, and the weight of the forward arm 15 then causes the arms and hub to tilt through ninety degrees again, thus bringing the arms back into the normal position. Of course, in this operation the two arms have exchanged positions, the apparatus being in a new normal or idle position, as shown in Figure 1. During this last tilting movement. the spring pressed wheels 21, acting on the inclined parts 28 of the cam 18, assist in completing the operation.

In Figures 1, 7, and 9, I have shown a simple and elementary coin-controlled look as an example of a device of this kind applied to my turnstile.

A hub 34, fixed to the axle 10, has a flange or rim 35 provided with a locking notch 36 adapted to be engaged with a pivoted stop 37 to prevent reverse movement of the stile. This may be used with or without the coin control.

Where the coin control is used, there is a pocket having sides notched as at 38, so that, when the pocket is empty, forward movement of the axle 10 and hub 34 is prevented by the pivoted stop lever 39. In the normal or idle position, a coin chute 40 extends above the pocket, and a coin may be dropped into said pocket as shown in Figure 7. As shown in dotted lines in Figure 7, the presence of this coin will prevent the stop lever 39 from falling into the notches 38 when the I hub 34 is turned as shown by the arrow, thus permitting the complete operation of the turnstile as already described. As shown, the notches and pockets are duplicated, to correspond to the two diametrically opposed idle positions of the axle 10.

Various changes can be made in this up paratus without departing from the scope of the invention which is not limited to the details herein shown and described.

What I claim is- 1. A turnstile having two arms fixed at right angles to each other and adapted to lie normally in a common vertical plane; in combination with a movable mounting for said arms placed at their junction and adapted to permit said arms to exchange positions through a single uninterrupted movement.

2. Apparatus as in claim 1 wherein the mounting is-adapted to permit a pivotal movement in two planes at right angles to each other.

3. Apparatus as in claim 1 wherein the mounting comprises a swivel carried by an axle at right angles thereto.

4. In a turnstile, a main axle, a support.

thereon, a swivel on the axle and two arms axle and to swing on said swivel and a lock to limit the tilting'movement of said arms adapted to be released automatically by a swinging movement of the arms on said swivel. a

7 In a turnstile, a support, a revoluble axle thereon, astop on the axle, a pivoted stop lever for said stop, arms adapted to swing on and tilt with said axle, and means adapted to be operated by swinging movement of the arms on the axle for releasing said stop lever.

8. In a turnstile, a support, a revoluble axle thereon, a hub pivotally mounted on the axle, arms carried by said hub, 'a stop on said axle, a pivoted stop lever for said stop and means ada ted to be actuated by contact with said hu to move said stop lever andreleasesaid stop.

9. In a turnstile, a support, a main axle thereon, a swivel on the axle, two arms adapted to swing on said swivel, a spring on the main axle, and assisting means actuated by said spring adapted to push said arms througha portion of their swinging movement.

1 Apparatus as in claim 9, wherein the assisting means comprise a spring-pressed wheel and an inclined plane carried by the arms and adapted to bear on said wheel.

11. In a turnstile, a support, a horizontally revoluble axle thereon, a hollow hub pivotally mounted on. the axle, arms carried by said hub, a spring-pressed wheel on the axle, and an inclined stead ing plane fixed within the hub and adapte to press against said wheel when the hub is swung on its "pivot.

12.- In a turnstile, a support, a hollow slotted main axle thereon, a shaft passing through the slots therein, wheels on the ends of said shaft, a cam fixed on the support,- and a spring within the axle adapted to press said wheels against said cam.

13. In a turnstile, a horizontal main axle,

two arms fixed at right angles to each other and pivotally mounted on said axle, and a coin-controlled lock for governing operation of said axle.

14. In a turnstile, a support, two arms fixed at right angles to each other, a revoluble axle on said support, and a mounting for said arms carried by said axle and adapted to swing thereon.

In testimony whereof I have hereto atfixed my signature.

, FRANCIS J. MoLOUGHLIN. 

